7 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: Objectivism & Austrian Economics
The Austrian School of Economics fundamentally believes that value is subjective, meaning the worth of a good in the eyes of a given individual is determined by an individual's personal preferences and needs, rather than any inherent objective quality of the thing.
Let's take an example. A tree can have value to a hiker as a shady place to rest, to a pencil-maker as 10,000 potential pencils, and to a farmer as firewood. Each values a different quality of the tree than the others.
But because it is an objective testable fact that at least one person values it, the tree objectively has value. (Not "a value" as in a number, "value" as a property.) You can test that fact by holding an auction for the tree, or by threatening to burn it down.
Comment by BIGJake111 at 19/02/2025 at 13:23 UTC
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
As compare to a labor theory of value which assumes someone can spend all day driving in circles and it creates the same value as someone acting as courier for a life saving organ transplant lol